Upholstered refrigerator cabinet



y v1957 E. B. DERR ETAL' 2,800,742

UPHOLSTERED REFRIGERATOR CABINET Original Filed July 15, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 30, 1957 E. B. DERR ET AL 2,800,742

UPHOLSTERED REFRIGERATOR CABINET- Original Filed July l5I 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 rakamsa wlaw Elmer B. Derr, Oak Park, Ill., and Benton Dales and Henry C. Abrahamsen, Evansville, Ind., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Whirlpool-Seeger Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Original application fully 15, 1952, Serial No. 298,898, new Patent No. 2,766,301, dated August 28, 1956. Divided and this application Gctober 20, 1955, Serial No. 544mm 1 Claim. (Cl. 45-138) This invention relates to a refrigerator cabinet construction, but more particularly it is concernedwith and directed to the provision of a refrigerator cabinet covered with a sheathing of upholstering material or the like, and to a simplified method for'accomplishing the covering thereof.

This application is a division of copending United States application Serial No. 298,898 filed July 15, 1952, now Patent No. 2,760,301, granted August 28, 1956, which describes the means for covering a refrigerator cabinet with a sheathing of upholstering material or the like. 7

As is well known in the industry, it has long been the practice to fabricate refrigerator cabinets from sheet metal coated with a baked enamel material that provided the cabinet with a finish having a smooth, durable and relatively attractive appearance. Heretofore, such enamel coatings were generally limited to the lighter shades but most frequently were confined to the white hues. On occasion, however, other colors and shade gradations were utilized and offered to the public but always with very limited success. The difficulty of modifying, substituting or varying colors once applied, and the inflexibility of changing such colored surfaces to meet the ever changing whims and fancies of the individual user always seemed to seriously militate against the ready acceptance thereof by the public. This was true despite the fact that the public otherwise was highly receptive to and profoundly interested in the introduction of color or pattern designs to the exterior of cabinets of this character as a means i for accenting or complementing other colors or decorativepatterns in the same room.

Today more than ever before, the housewife user of i a refrigerator cabinet is mindful and conscious of the effect of blending patterns and matching or accenting color or other decorative schemes in the room where such cabinet is most frequently positioned; hence the problem of providing a refrigerator cabinet that is sufficiently flexible of change to fit intoall decorative revisions that may be brought about over a period of time by the fanciful whimsand ever-changing moods-of 'thehousewife,

-that permits such changes tobe readily effected by the average mechanically unskilled housewife in a very short time and without theme of complicated, unfamiliar tools or other such devices.- The present invention thus was conceived to fulfill the requirements created by these problems, and its primary object, therefore, is to provide an improved refrigerator cabinet, generally convenuonal in construction, that offers the flexibility of change necessary and essential for fulfilling a long felt and highly de- .sirable need in the refrigerationindustry.

hired States Patent M 2,800,742 Patented July so, 1957 Another object is to provide a refrigerator cabinet whose exterior surface may be covered, when desired by the user, with an upholstering or like material without in any way inarring or defacing such cabinet surface.

A further object is to provide a refrigerator cabinet having means incorporated therein to facilitate the securing of an upholstering or like material over the exterior surface thereof.

A Still further object is to provide a simple, inexpensive, effective and easily operable means for afiixing a covering or sheathing to the exterior of at least a portion of a refrigerator cabinet.

An important object to to provide an improved method for covering the exterior surface of a refrigerator cabinet with a readily removable sheathing material such as a decorative textile fabric or a plastic sheeting.

Another important object is to-provide a simplified method, readily operable by the housewife user of a refrigerator cabinet without the use of complicated and unfamiliar tools or like devices, for removably affixing a sheathing or an upholstering material or the like to the exterior of a refrigerator cabinet. 7

A further important object is to provide a refrigerator cabinet door having simplified afiixing means thereon adapted to receive and securely position .in tightly stretched relationship a covering or sheathing material I against the surface thereof so that said material will lie closely conformed to the contours of said surface.

A still further important object is to provide a refrigerator cabinet door structure having yieldable securing means adjacent the inwardly turned, marginal edges thereof for receiving and removably affixing the edges of a covering material positioned over the surface thereof.

A principal object of the present invention also includes the provision of a refrigerator cabinet having a high degree of flexibility for change in that the exterior thereof may be easily and inexpensively altered or modified in appearance, at will, by the addition theretoof a covering or sheathing material that maybe selected to accent or complement the color scheme or decor of the room into which such cabinet is positionable.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following descriptionproceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed outwith particularity in the claim annexed to and forming a part of this specificatiom For a better understanding of the invention,'reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front plan view of a refrigerator cabinet wherein the door thereof has been covered with an upholstering or like material in accordance with the present invention; i

Fig. 2 is a side view of the cabinet shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, partially in section, of one form of the afiixing means provided for securingthe covering material against the cabinet surface;

covering material before said trim strip is positioned over the retainer;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view, partially in section, showing another afiixing means for securing the covering material against the cabinet surface; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a portion of the trim strip used with the affixing and securing means depicted in Fig. 8.

3 By referring to the drawings it will be noted that one embodiment selected for illustration includes a refrigerator cabinet that is fashioned in conventional manner with spaced apart inner and outer walls with thermal insulation therebetween that enclose, a food storage compartment having a front access opening therein and is represented generally by the reference character 10. The front access opening is covered by a closure door, indicated generally by the numeral 11, which includes an outer metallic front panel 12 having a rearwardly turned top wall 13, and opposite side walls 14 and 15. Said side and top walls terminate in an inwardly directed peripherally extending flange-like member 16 that supports a resilient rubber-like sealing gasket 17. A slotted opening or recess 18 in the inner edge of said gasket receives in frictional engaging relationship an inner panel 19 fashioned, preferably, of a suitable fibrous or plastic material. In accordance with standard practice thermal insulation 20 fills the space between said inner panel 19 and the outer door panel 12. Hinges 21 provide for pivotally mounting the door on the cabinet, while a foot operated opening and latching mechanism 22 of standard manufacture may be used in lieu of the conventional hand operated handle.

Now in accordance with the more specific teachings of the invention there is provided, in one preferred application thereof, a channel-like trim retainer strip member 23 which may be aflixed by suitable screw means 24 to the exterior surface of the side walls 14 and 15 and top wall 13 of said door. Said retainer strip has a cross-section shaped, preferably, to resemble a substantially flat U with a generally fiat central portion 25 that joins short oppositely disposed legs 26 and 27 that are concavely curved slightly inwardly, and said retainer when secured will be arranged so that the opening or mouth of the U-channel will face thedoor panel to which it will be secured while the edges of the curved legs thereof will abut the surface of said panel. If desired, of course, the screws 24 may be counter sunk in the retainer 23 but such is not necessary for the proper functioning of the device.

A channel-like protecting and trim strip 28 is fashioned, preferably, with a cross-section that resembles a C-shape and includes an outwardly curved or bowed central or body portion 29 having marginal edges that are slightly concavely or inwardly. curved to provide longitudinally extending curved flanges 30 and 31. Said curved flanges are adapted to slip over and snap around 'the curved edges of the retainer so thatsaid trim will be frictionally secured to said re tainer by virtue of the resiliency of the bowed central portion 29 of said trim. The trim as thus disposed serves not only as a decorative trim strip but also as a protective strip for the retainer and for the edges of the covering material which will subsequently be placed therebeneath. Said trim strip, as well as said trim retainer, may

be fabricated from any suitable material such, for instance, as a'metal or a plastic that will provide the resiliency necessary to retain said two members engaged after one has been snapped-on over the other, while, the trim, in addition, should be susceptible of appropriate finishing or other desired decorative treatment so that the appearance thereof will not materially detract-from tl1 e general appearance of the cabinet door to which 1t 18 attached. Said trim may be formed in a single longitudinally extending piece and bent to fit the top and sides, or, if desired, it may be divided into three sections, one each for the sides and one for the. top. .In'the latter instance clips 32 may be used to cover .the, joints where the side sections abut and join the top section,

Alongthe bottom of the door panel 12 there may be positioned an additional trim strip 33 which is disposed,

preferably, adjacent the lower edge of said panel so as to overlie the side walls 14 and 15 as well as the front wall of said panel, and which may be longitudinally bent or retainer by a slight hand pressure.

in shape it will be appreciated that such configuration may vary at will as this is merely a designers choice. Attached by any suitable means to the flat surface of said trim are a number of spike-like studs 34 which are adapted to be frictionally received into conventional tubular or sleevelike fasteners 35, in turn, securely affixed to the interior of the door panel 12. With this arrangement said trim may be placed or removed at will without the use of special tools, and, furthermore, the appearance thereof will not detract from the overall attractiveness of the door panel.

Afiixed to the flat upwardly disposed surface of said trim retainer is a strip of pressure-sensitive double-faced adhesive tape 36 which can be made to adhere to said A similar strip of tape, preferably, is also placed beneath the lower trim strip 33. In the latter instance, however, the tape is placed directly on the surface of the door panel that will be beneath said trim. For convenience in use it is desirable that the width of said tape selected be slightly narrower than flat portion 25 of the retainer upon which it is to be positioned, and also narrower than that of the 3 lower trim 33 under which it will lie, thereby avoiding any overlap along the edges thereof. Although anyone of several commercial products presently available would serve thepurposes intended for said tape a highly satisfactory product for such adhering applications is the pressure-sensitive, double-face Scotch tape Number 400 manufactured and sold commercially by the Minnesota Mining Company. Said tape may be positioned on the retainer and beneath the trim at the factory during fabrication of the refrigerator cabinet, or, if desired, it may be placed thereon by the user at some later time. Likewise the replacement thereof because of wear or deterioration at some subsequent time can easily be accomplished by a housewife without the use of any special tools or other devices.

An additional trim, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 5, which may be provided as a combined decorative trim and an intermediate or supplementary sheathing material securing means, includes a triangularly sectioned trim strip 37 having spike-like studs 38 projecting from the flat side thereof for frictionally engaging conventional mating tubular or sleeve-like fasteners 39, in turn, fixedly secured to the inner surface of the panel 12 in much the same manner as that of the lower trim 33 previously described. The longitudinal configuration of the trim 37, it will be understood, may be made to correspond with any preselected design motif and in the present instance the surface of the front panel 12 having been debossed in a longitudinal as well as a lateral direction for design purposes the trim 37 is shaped to fit or conform therewith.

Now in order to cover, dress-up, sheath or upholster the refrigerator cabinet door in accordance with the intent of the present invention it is necessary to remove only the trim strips 28, 33, and 37. An ordinary screw driver or table knife is sufficient to separate the push-on type fasteners that hold the trim strips 33 and 37 in place, and to unsnap the trim 28 off the trim retainer 23. After the trim pieces havebeen removed a piece of sheathing or covering material 40 is cut by suitable means approximately to size. Said sheathing or covering material may, of course, be a textile fabric appropriately colored or patterned, or it may be a sheet or unsupported film of plastic having the desired coloring or design patterns fabricated therein. Papers, thin carboards or other fibrous materials may also be employed if desired. In fact, the materials suitable for a covering or sheathing of this character are almost limitless. It should be appreciated however, that thematerial selected must be sufliciently pliable as to be readily stretched and be formable around the contours of the door panel, and furthermore, it must be sufliciently thin to permit its insertion beneath the protecting or covering trim strips without interfering with the snap-on securing action thereof. Initially the lower edge of the material is first pressed onto the tape 36 along the bottom edge of the front panel and then gradually the other edges of the material are pressed onto the strips of adhesive tape disposed along the sides and top to provide a transitional, intermediate or temporary means for holding or securing said material in place over the surface until the more permanent and final securing means is subsequently applied. With this temporary and easily removable arrangement the material may be gradually adiusted so as to provide a smooth, fiat and unwrinkled covering over the entire panel with the material being made to closely follow all the contours thereof. Excess material, of course, may be trimmed off by the use of conventional scissors or any other sharp edged blade or instrument. Small amounts of excess material around the edges may be doubled-back and fitted under the covering :and securing trim if so desired.

Upon completion of the covering and forming or shaping operation the channel-like trim protecting strip 28 is positioned over the retainer strip 23 and the two secured together by a snap-on action as the curved flanges along the outer edges of said trim slip over and frictionally engage in jaw-like fashion the curved edge portions of said retainer strip. As the protecting trim 28 is thus pressed on over the retainer strip 23 the longitudinally extending edge 31 of the trim contacts the material and forces or wedges it into the corner, formed where the curved edge of said retainer strip abuts the exterior surface of the panel 12, and in so doing tightly stretches the material over the surface of the panel and, at the same time, presses said material along its edge portions into closely covering or overlying relationship with said panel. After the trim strip is snapped into place, with the material stretched tightly over the surface and the edge portions thereof held or gripped between the closely engaging portions of the trim and retainer, these two members will cooperate to fixedly or finally secure the position of the material over the panel surface. In the event the material has initially been stretched too tightly" over the surface of the panel the adhesive tape temporary securing means will give or yield slightly when the trim. strip 28 is subsequently pressed onto the retainer strip '23. The yielding action of this connection between the material and the panel avoids tearing or damaging the material which might otherwise result when the trim was snapped over the retainer.

The bottom trim strip 33 is pressed into place adjacent the lower edge of the panel 12 by merely forcing; the spike-like studs 34 through the material and through the adhesive tape therebeneath, and into the fasteners 35 on the reverse side of the panel. The trim 33 thus functions not only as a decorative member but also as a final-- ized securing or aflixing means for the covering material. around the lower edge of said panel. The centrally'dis-- posed trim 37 is pressed into place in the same manner as said bottom trim and, when so positioned, functions: not only as a decorative member but also as a supplementary securing means for the material, and since it is. disposed intermediate the edges of said material it is: particularly useful in helping to tightly stretch the mate rial and to press the material close to the surface of the panel. In the present instance said trim is fashioned to conform with a longitudinally and laterally debossed. area in the panel and the trim, therefore, further aids, as shown in Fig. 5, in forcing the material to conform. to the irregular contours resulting from such debossing,. and, at the same time, to slightly stretch the material in both directions. A scuff plate or push panel 41, when. provided, may also be held in place by the conventional push-on-type fasteners likewise used for the trim strips 33 and 37.

In Figs. 8 and 9 there is illustrated another preferred. arrangement for removably afiixing a covering or sheath-- ing material to a refrigerator cabinet in conformance with the teachings of the present invention. As illus-' trated, the fastening device is shown asutilized with a conventional refrigerator door 11, fabricated in substantially identical form with the door heretofore described in detail and with corresponding or like elements represented with the same reference numerals previously recited therefor. In this latter embodiment the retainer strip, indicated generally by the reference numeral 42, includes a longitudinally extending anchoring body member 43 bent back or folded over itself, as indicated in Fig. 8, with one marginal edge thereof bent outwardly to form a flange 44 the free edge of which is rounded over or inwardly curved and provides an overhanging channellike lip 45. The other free and longitudinally extending edge 46 of said body member is provided with a plurality of spaced, flat barb-like or pointed members 47 bent over approximately toward said overhanging lip, and, intermediate said barbs and bent over approximately 90 to extend in the opposite direction thereto, a plurality of shelf-like extensions, flanges or platforms 48. Said flanges .or extensions, said barbs and said lip are disposed, preferably, in separate planes slightly spaced from one another with the barbs positioned in a plane intermediate said lip and said flanged extensions, thus avoiding physical interference therebetween because of the location of these elements.

The retainer strip or fastening member 42 is adapted for aflixment to the door flange 16 by means of its anchoring body portion 43 which is disposed intermediate the gasket seal 17 and said flange and is securely fixed therebetween by conventional screw-type securing means (not shown) generally provided for retaining said gasket seal in place.

An angle-like protecting trim and securing strip 49, fashioned with a cross-section generally resembling an L, is provided for covering in a snap-on fashion the trim retainer 42. The marginal edges of said trim strip may be inwardly curved or bent, as indicated at 50 and 51, to cooperate with said retainer in effecting a snap-on action as one of said curved edges overlies and tightly engages the flange 44, of said retainer, while said other curved edge fits -over and tightly engages the shelf-like extensions or platforms 48 thereof.

In this latter embodiment, as was the case with the previously described embodiment of the material securing means, the covering material is pressed against pressuresensitive :tape disposed along the bottom edge of the door and then covered with the lower trim member 33, but around the sides and top however, the material is merely hooked over the barbs 47, the surplus cut off from around the edges thereof, and then the trim 49 snapped onto the retainer over the covering material to stretch said material and finally secure it as before.

While the foregoing description has been confined to that of an application of a sheathing or covering material to the door of a refrigerator cabinet it will be appreciated that other portions of said cabinet may also be treated in the same manner, and the present invention, it should be understood, envisages the inclusion of such applications as falling within the scope and spirit of its original concept.

The embodiments of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration and description herein are those preferred as a result of selective tests based upon requirements for achieving the objects of the invention and developing the utility thereof in the most desirable and facile manner, due regard being had to existing factors of economy, simplicity of design and construction, production methods, ease of application by the housewife, and the improvements sought to be elfected. It will be appreciated, therefore, that the particular structural and functional aspects employed here are not intended to exclude, but rather to suggest, such other adaptations and modifications of the invention as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is: I

A removable'sheathin'g assembly for a refrigerator cabinet panel having the marginal edges thereof inwardly flanged, comprising: a retainer adapted for securement to the flanged portions of the panel; said retainer having a plurality of sharply pointed barbs extending angularly therefrom; said retainer being further fashioned with a plurality of tabs extending angularly therefrom in a direction opposite to that of said barbs; said retainer additional'ly having an angularly extending member which extends in the same direction as the barbs and is spaced therefrom; a sheathing material for covering the surface of the panel; said barbs being arranged to receive in removable relationship said sheathing material; and a protecting trim strip shaped 'to overlie in frictionally engag- 15 ing relationship the said projections on the one side and the said angularly extending member on another side, and simultaneously therewith to engage and hold the sheathing material against the cabinet panel and upon the said retainer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,967,357 Pry July 24, 1934 2,495,870 Soukup Jan. 31, 1950 2,739,356 Aldridge et al Mar. 27, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 132,022 Sweden Sept. 4, 1945 

